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Marshall Jones
News is best when it's local, relevant, timely and interesting. That's our focus every day.
We are on the ground in Penticton, Vernon, Kelowna and Kamloops to bring you the stories that matter most.
Marshall may call West Kelowna home, but after 16 years in local news and 14 in the Okanagan, he knows better than to tell readers in other communities what is "news' to them. He relies on resident reporters to reflect their own community priorities and needs. As the newsroom leader, his job is making those reporters better, ensuring accuracy, fairness and meeting the highest standards of journalism.
Police called in after house party gets out of control
Kamloops Mounties arrested at least two people after breaking up an out of control house party in Pineview early Sunday morning. RCMP spokesperson Staff Sgt. Grant Learned says between 10 and 40 people were found fighting in three streets outside the home in the 1700 block of Lodgepole Drive. The 42-year-old owner of the home...
Driver walks away from crash, blows twice legal limit for alcohol
A 54-year-old Kamloops woman is facing charges of impaired driving the red 2013 Jeep Cherokee she was driving crashed into a retaining wall and rolled onto its side at the intersection of Columbia St. and 13th Ave. just 11:20 p.m. Sunday. Witnesses reported seeing the Jeep heading east bound on Columbia St. swerving and driving...
Bystanders stop hit and run driver
Police and emergency vehicles are were on the scene at a two-car accident outside of Clancy's Pub on Martin Street tonight, according to witnesses. Reports are not yet confirmed, but one witness said a black car was travelling southbound and rear-ended a maroon minivan parked on the east side of the road. Robert Conci said...
Exhausted, cold snowmobilers rescued from backcountry
Vernon Search and Rescue had to help two exhausted and cold snowmobilers after they endured an 11-km walk through deep snow on Saturday. Search Manager Leigh Pearson says RCMP called the volunteer service for help finding two people in their 60s who called for help after getting stranded in the Beauleau Lake area on the...
Random beating leaves police puzzled
A 23-year-old Kelowna man is left bruised and bewildered after what police say is a random beating by one or more attackers. The man was on Ellis Street between Harvey Avenue and Buckland Avenue Wednesday afternoon when he was thrown to the ground and kicked repeatedly by an unknown number of people, says Kelowna RCMP Staff...
Parent accused of stealing from school band program
More than $22,000 has gone missing from the Okanagan Mission Secondary school band parents program and police have charged one of the parents themselves with taking it. A 47-year-old Elizabeth Sherwood of Kelowna has been charged with theft, fraud and uttering forged documents after the money went missing from a fundraising account in 2010/11. Last...
Forget the ticket: Speeding cost Surrey man $61,000
Police searching the vehicle of a speeding driver north of Kamloops earlier this week found something unexpected in the trunk. They thought it might be drugs, instead it was $61,000 in cash. On January 29, 2013 a Southeast District Traffic Section cop stopped a 35-year-old Surrey man for speeding near Darfield, B.C. Something about the...
Battered and bloody but no one’s talking
Kelowna Mounties were called to a bloody assault Thursday afternoon, but no one involved wanted to talk about it—not even the victim. Shortly after 3 p.m. police were called to Burne Ave where witnesses saw what they described as two men "covered in blood," according to Cpl. Tania Carroll. Police managed to learn that the...
16-year-old Kelowna girl missing
Kelowna RCMP need your help finding Kylie Jessome, 16, who was reported missing to the Kelowna RCMP on January 14, 2013. Jessome is described as Caucasian, 5'6", 130 lbs., medium build, long black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing red and black high top skater shoes, and carrying a blue back pack....
Man injured in targeted home invasion
Police say four people with masks entered a home early this morning brandishing weapons and beat and robbed the people inside in a targeted attack. According to RCMP Sgt. Edward Preto, several adults were home in the 1000 block of Kemano St. when the robbers entered with "sharp-edged weapons" around 1:18 a.m. He said victims of...
Drunk driver causes head on collision
West Kelowna RCMP say the driver who caused a head-on collision near Antler's Beach Monday night had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit. At approximately 9 p.m., his vehicle crossed the centre line and struck an oncoming truck. The 32-year-old driver was showing signs of impairment and that was confirmed with a...
Thieves stole trucks to steal iPads
Police have charged three people in a string of organized and well-executed commercial break-ins over the past month used to target primarily Apple iPads and MacBooks. After arresting five people and charging three of them, Kelowna RCMP have a better idea of how the group was operating. RCMP spokesperson Const. Kris Clark said police believe...
Already out of prison for manslaughter, back in for stabbing
A Kelowna man who was involved in one of the most heinous stabbing deaths in recent Kelowna history is going back to jail for more work with a knife. Michael Shane Mattes, 26, was one of three young men who beat and stabbed 57-year-old Kenneth Scully to death in January, 2005. Scully had just retired...
Nine months jail for threats: “I want to know the power of killing another person”
A Kelowna man with a long history of violence against women in his life will spend another nine months in jail for assault and threats to kill. Brandon Oril Topping, 31, has been in and out of prison for years, most significantly when he let his temper get the better of him in 2004 while...
Vernon serves NYE the right way
Vernon Mounties looked for—but rarely found—much trouble on New Year's Eve. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says police set up road blocks through the night in several areas of the city. Other than two 90-day impoundments for alcohol and 11 people taken to cells for fights and liquor-related offences, he said it was a pretty clear...
Merry Christmas
On behalf of everyone at Infotel Multimedia, we want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. We leave you with a few treats over the holidays. Of course we encourage you follow Santa on his way with the official NORAD tracking website and this wonderful video, also by NORAD. %%Video2%% And here, we present...
Fowler had someplace to go: Did you see her?
What happened to CJ Fowler? The sixteen-year-old girl and a male companion travelled to Kamloops to visit friends a few days before her remains were found in Guerin Creek, Dec. 5. So far, police have been tight-lipped with information about the case, but this is what we know so far about her movements in her...
West Kelowna Apple store closed after ‘significant’ break-in, theft
A West Kelowna Apple reseller store is temporarily closed after a major break and enter on the weekend. Gord McOrmond, owner of Simply Computing stores in Kelowna, Kamloops and throughout B.C. says the store will remain closed at least until it can be secured. "We are not sure yet what we are doing," he said...
Coroner to investigate death of a Summerland senior
UPDATE: Dec. 13 - 4:52 p.m. The B.C. Coroners Service has an open file on Marie Louisa Bonaldi who died three months before husband Alfredo Bonaldi was found close to death at the same retirement home. Coroner Barb McLintock says the file was never closed and the investigation continues into the deaths of both Bonaldi...
Summerland retirement home under investigation: senior near death
"We're sick and tired of hearing they're working on this. They (policies) should be in…
Suspected drunk driver flips truck, runs away
Police say a 36-year-old Kelowna man is under investigation for impaired driving after flipping his truck and running from the scene in West Kelowna Sunday. The accident occurred around 2:24 p.m. near on Byland Road near Home Hardware. The 1990s Toyota pickup truck went off road left, flipped onto its roof and slid along a...
‘No one knows what I have been through:’ Tavares
While Buddy Tavares has had his last words in the trial of the RCMP officer who delivered the kick seen around the world, his civil suit remains far behind. Tavares wrapped up his evidence in the assault causing bodily harm trial of Const. Geoff Mantler on Tuesday. Outside court, a clearly agitated Tavares refused to...
Police drop hammer on commercial vehicles
North Okanagan RCMP had its suspicions that light duty commercial vehicles were pushing the boundaries of their licences and a seven-hour blitz of provincial roads confirmed it. Nearly every one of the 40 or so vehicles they checked Nov. 21 had issues, including 43 orders for vehicle defects or licencing. Though police also handed out...
Fire destroys Burtch strip mall
An overnight fire has destroyed four businesses at Burtch Plaza. Kelowna Fire Dept. was called shortly after 1 a.m. for smoke and flames coming from the strip mall at 1470 Harvey Ave, says Platoon Capt. Tim Light. Initial crews arriving reported heavy smoke coming from the roof area above units 5 and 6. Fire crews...